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Assembling Some Shots

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Smithson) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 14:36:00 +0000

Here's some initial footage and photos from my work (with Nico) on a music documentary on The King Bucks. I'm excited to work on this project, and I look forward to when we can have enough footage and other materials together to make a story.

Starting a New Project

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Smithson) — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 18:27:00 +0000

I'm helping Nico with a music documentary project. I'm not sure where it's heading, but I'm sure we will come up with some great material in the end.

Here's some audio I recorded last night. This is The King Bucks covering Buck Owens (right click, save as to download).

And here's a snippet of video.

Happy Holidays!

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Smithson) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 15:22:00 +0000

BEScavenger: A Photo Scavenger Hunt and Pub Crawl

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Smithson) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 19:48:00 +0000

Erin and I co-hosted a birthday party on Saturday night. Since we didn't have any experience with a mobile + tech event, I was worried about how it would come together. However, I was surprised to see how many people participated. And it was fun!

Here's how to roll your own mobile, real-time photo scavenger hunt:

We bought several yards of fabric (one per team) and fashioned our own makeshift scarfs (this is an important if you want to be able to tell which team shot which photo, because that person or object could be shot with scarf in the frame)
Before the event, we informed the guests to make sure they had the Flickr mobile application (and had an account ready to go)
When guests arrived, we ate some appetizers and had a drink... then provided instructions on how to upload scavenger hunt photos to Flickr, and which tag to use (so we can aggregate the photos more easily)
Once we assigned teams, we set off down Henderson Avenue, stopping by various bars
At the end, we all met up at the same location to hang out and compare photos

Check out the results from our scavenger hunt, tagged BEScavenger. I shot some photos that night with my other camera and added them later.

You'll also notice that there are a few crazy ones that ended up in the pool, like Colleen and Tony's cat, who did not attend the scavenger hunt in real-time, but was later given honorary "red team" status.

Art Conspiracy 5

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Smithson) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:56:00 +0000

Art Conspiracy was neat. This was my first year to attend, and I was blown away at how many people contributed and how fun this event was. This even gets a strong recommendation from me!

Here's my first piece made with my new Canon 7D. Audio recorded with a Zoom H2.

Lessons Learned:

Recording live audio in a warehouse is difficult. Don't move around because the location change picks up on the recording
Stabilization is important. Waiting on help from Santa for some reinforcements
Shooting with a DSLR is a little bit easier than the Canon HF10
Don't buy memory for your camera from an overseas vendor. It's harder to return if you get a crappy dud (shame on you, flahsmemorymall and SanDisk!)
Zoom H2 doesn't play nice with final cut. Conversion to AAC format required

Apple Tart

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Smithson) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:17:00 +0000

Serious Eats has a seriously easy version of an apple tart. I made it for the second time last night and it was even better than the first time. I served it with vanilla bean ice cream. The verdict: it's a cheater-easy way to get that apple pie flavor. De-lish!

Imogen Heap - Granada Theater - Dallas TX

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Smithson) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:49:00 +0000

Imogen Heap's concert bordered near-magic status last night. Even though she played to a sold-out crowd at the Granada Theater, her performance was peppered with moments of direct address that helped her achieve a playful, friendly level of intimacy with the audience. Her setup was incredible, and her backing band provided extra "mmph" to her performance. I was amazed to see her mic setup. From what I could see, she had at least three lavalier mic kits on: one for her vocals and two mounted on wrist bands. These wrist mics here helpful for when she played other instruments; they picked up sound directly from the instrument itself.

I included one of the crappy iPhone photos I took at the show. After reading the tour's camera policy, I decided against taking my nicer camera. In my opinion, artists should be open and welcome to any and all publicity from amateur photographers and video makers.

Here's a recording I made on my phone. I used the voice memo application, and then pieced the bits together in GarageBand and plopped it in to one file.

Imogen Heap: The Moment I Said It (Live @ Granada Theater, Dallas, TX, November 17, 2009)

This was the last song she did in her encore... you will notice some funky beer bottle noise and talkin'... I was in the back. Yeah, like right next to a trash can.

UPDATE: here's a nice video from @Got80s of her song "Just for Now" from the Granada show.

Doritos Crash the Superbowl: Somthing Special

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Smithson) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:48:00 +0000

My buddy Marcel Maitland has a major contender in the Doritos "Crash the Superbowl" commercial contest. I'm excited that his project turned out nicely.

Where the Wild Things Are

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Smithson) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:01:00 +0000

Here's my Halloween 2009 pumpkin. Whoa, the days have slipped by and I forgot to post this. Oooops!

Lindsy's Whirly Ball Birthday

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Smithson) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:05:00 +0000

Here's my present to Lindsy: a birthday video documenting her Whirly Ball Birthday party. We had a freakin' blast.

Key To The Highway

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Smithson) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 06:37:00 +0000

So tonight was the guys night hall pass! And my best bud Bill and I put together Eric Clapton's arrangement (we think) of "Key To The Highway." So here's to Friday night!

Guitar: Bill Sinclair
Vocal: Ben Smithson

Download it now!

Key To The Highway (mp3)

Texas State Fair - 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Smithson) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 17:11:00 +0000

Here's a quick peek at footage I took while attending the 2009 Texas State Fair.

Flash Particles in Video

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Smithson) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:23:00 +0000

Adobe CS4 comes with a free month of learning at Lynda.com. I'm totally pumped up about learning some new stuff, and I have been using some time to pick up back on on some Flash learning. Not much to show, but I did spend a little time learning about particle systems. Todd Perkins leads a challenging and informative course on particle systems.

Here's an example file that dynamically loads particles over a video frame - the particles are generated from areas of white pixels.

Update!

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Smithson) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 22:02:00 +0000

It's been a [minute] since I posted. There's a lot of happenings... happening!

Wednesday, September 2nd is my last day with Siemens PLM Software. It has been a GREAT 6 years. I'm sad to leave, but excited to take on some new projects with a smaller company. I start on September 8th with WebCE.

Last week signaled the beginning of another semester in an endless string of semesters toward an MFA. Just like all the others so far, this semester will definitely kick all ass. I am enrolled in:

Information Design & Innovation
Film Studies

São Paulo Bound.

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Smithson) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 16:34:00 +0000

I'm flying to São Paulo tonight for a quick work trip to train people on a system we use for web content. It should be just as exciting and weird as November's Seoul trip. I think I'll have an easier time sounding out some of the words though!

Doldrums

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Smithson) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 21:45:00 +0000

I'm wrapped up doing work stuff right now... no huge update!

Well, there is ONE update. I signed up for 2 cool classes for the Fall 2009 semester.

Information Design

Film Studies

It should be another great semester!

Oh Mary Don't You Weep

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Smithson) — Fri, 22 May 2009 05:58:00 +0000

Oh Mary Don't You Weep

Performed by Ben Smithson & Bill Sinclair

Sunday April 26, 2009 at Saint Andrews Christian Church - Carrollton, TX
Recorded on Canon Vixia Hf10 mini shoe-mounted shotgun mic.
Special thanks to Bill Sinclair for accompaniment and vocals help.

Listen: Oh Mary Don't You Weep

Hallelujah (arr. Reeltime Travelers)

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Smithson) — Fri, 22 May 2009 05:50:00 +0000

Hallelujah (arr. Reeltime Travelers)

Performed by Ben Smithson & Bill Sinclair

Sunday April 26, 2009 at Saint Andrews Christian Church - Carrollton, TX
Recorded on Canon Vixia Hf10 mini shoe-mounted shotgun mic.
Special thanks to Bill Sinclair for accompaniment and vocals help.
(My mic on the sound system was turned off for the first part -- oops!)

Listen: Hallelujah

Runnin' All Over This Town

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Smithson) — Fri, 22 May 2009 04:22:00 +0000

I made some play time for me tonight. It's my first GarageBand project.

So I sat down with my new mic, cobbled together some chords - a la blues style - and threw some lyrics on it. Total time - from blank page, to lyrics, to guitar chords, to recording, to mix down: 1 hour.

It's 1-minute something... just testing out the mic I bought. Turn them speakers up. I didn't mess with levels much.

Listen: Runnin' All Over This Town

Neel Ryan Tucker: Artist Spotlight- NRT discusses photography, inspiration, Michael Urie, Pat Thomas..

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Smithson) — Tue, 05 May 2009 14:32:00 +0000

Neel Ryan Tucker discusses photography, inspiration, Michael Urie, Pat Thomas, and challenges of trying to make it as a photographer.

This video is my final assignment for a grad class in video production at the University of Texas at Dallas. Shot with Canon Vixia HF10. Edited with Final Cut Express.

http://www.neelryantucker.com
http://emac.utdallas.edu/

Trackback Test Post

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Smithson) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 21:46:00 +0000

I just changed trackback settings today on the Siemens PLM Software blog. I hope they work.

Also, Chris Kelley put up a good post about the future of social media.

Chris says, "What I am left wondering though is do we really have to wait until 2011 until we get to developers and users partying together?"

Neel Ryan Tucker - Full Rough Edit #1

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Smithson) — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 13:22:00 +0000

This is a rough edit of a 5-minute (ish) video project for Dean Terry's video production class at the University of Texas at Dallas.

http://www.neelryantucker.com/

Featured: Neel Ryan Tucker describes his passion, projects, and the obstacles of trying to make it as a photographer.

Shot on Canon Vixia HF10. Audio recorded with camera-mounted shotgun mic and with Sennheiser G2 Evolution wireless lav. Edited with Final Cut Express.

Rob & Lindsey's Wedding

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Smithson) — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 21:04:00 +0000

I had to replace the audio track with a pre-licensed song. Not loving that... because it sounds way, way better with "Question" by Rhett Miller. But whatever.

Bill Sinclair Plays Redhead Boy

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Smithson) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 20:45:00 +0000

Bill asked me to get video/audio of him playing a traditional [flat picking] song. He starts slow, but picks up quite a bit at the end. Recorded April 10, 2009. Shot on Canon Vixia HF10. Audio: Sennheiser Evolution G2 wireless lav.

Plat House: Austin

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Smithson) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 14:22:00 +0000

Re-post from LamiDesign. I'm loving this hill country house. Designed from plans purchased from LamiDesign. Very cool.